Homelessness

[Beldar_the_Cenobite]

If you graduate nursing school, assuming you were living with your parents, and you had a lot of student loans and your parents said, "You graduated, now, get out" and you found a job as an RN in a field you wanted to get into or didn't, say you had no money and you had to live in a van for awhile, how would the facility feel about your lack of address? Say you had no friends you could reach out to to allow you to utilize their address for your mail. I know companies not related to medical field who have no problem with you living in a car or van or whatever that helps you save money on rent or mortgage so you can pay off student loan debt.

I'm not living with my parents, but I will be in this situation soon, so I'm hoping facilities would have no problem with it assuming you can prove you can maintain cleanliness.

I'll have enough money saved up by the time I graduate where I can afford a van, preferably white cargo van, where I can avoid the stress of paying rent/mortgage bills.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I spent last winter living in my car, not by choice but through no fault of my own. My employer was aware, did'nt care one way or the other. Just know this op, living in a car or van (unless you have a dependable place to park is expensive! More expensive than renting an apt for sure. All depends on location and circumstance, but gas, meals, having to pay to take showers or rent a hotel room to shower add up quickly, add sleep deprivation and stress to the mix, especially if you don't have a dependable place to park.

This was my thought reading the OP, too. You could have a PO Box to use as your address but where are you going to park said van regularly? And where will you shower? If you plan to work in a large hospital/a city, driving to and parking at work will be an added expense. (My parking at the hospital I liaise at is over $300/month. The only reason I drive to work is that my employer reimburses my parking expenses.) Your employer might not mind you living in a van but they would mind if you came to work without showering for several days. And the expenses of having to eat out all the time would add up. I'd search craigslist for people looking for a roommate and invest in a public transportation pass. That would probably be more affordable in the long run.

I graduated with close to $90K in student loans and my nursing salary was sufficient to rent a studio apartment, pay my student loan bills and even to save enough money for a down payment for a house in 4 years.

[Wuzzie]

Well, he said his parents kicked him out, and that he had no money and "had [not wanted] to live in a van." so I assumed a roof over the head was the goal. And as the van situation was to enable working as an RN, presumably after six months he'd - have an income to pay rent with? I agree that rent is not an investment, but I've been paying it for ten years now and I've been far happier living in apartments than I would've been in a camper van.

No he said he didn't want the stress of paying rent or a mortgage. He said he wants to live in a van. Some people find that freeing. So I gave him a suggestion for maybe stepping it up a bit from a cargo van. Geesh, you'd think I suggested he live in a cardboard box. Our own Ruby Vee lives on a boat.

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

No he said he didn't want the stress of paying rent or a mortgage. He said he wants to live in a van. Some people find that freeing. So I gave him a suggestion for maybe stepping it up a bit from a cargo van. Geesh, you'd think I suggested he live in a cardboard box. Our own Ruby Vee lives on a boat.

"say you had no money and you had to live in a van for awhile" is literally what he said. There was no "want" about it. Other posters have spoken to the stresses of living in a van that, IMHO, sound like they outweigh the stresses of rent/mortgage payments. But I am not invested enough in this topic to continue arguing about it.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

With all respect, you're not in nursing school yet! So much may change between now and then - try not to stress about your living situation after you graduate. Save as much as you can, and if living in a van is what you want, then do that.

Have you talked to anyone about your anxiety?

[Wuzzie]

I'll have enough money saved up by the time I graduate where I can afford a van, preferably white cargo van, where I can avoid the stress of paying rent/mortgage bills.

Direct quote from the OP without putting my own spin on it. He doesn't want to pay rent. I'm just giving him a better option than a van down by the river. If you're going to shoot down somebody's idea you need to be able to handle their defense of it. If the man doesn't want to pay rent I stand by my suggestion. I'm not saying it's optimal but it is within the parameters of what he said he wants. If he said he didn't mind paying rent then my answer would have gone an entirely different way.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

People camp out over night in Wal-Mart parking lot with the company's blessing at a lot of the stores. You can also get a gym membership and clean up.

It might be a short term problem solver.

I would be concerned about your safety and potential for getting 'rousted/ticketed' by police.

Perhaps you can barter your skills for lodging such as live in with elderly or disabled as a companion and still work.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Perhaps you can barter your skills for lodging such as live in with elderly or disabled as a companion and still work.

I searched craigslist in my city for roommate postings in response to this OP and found an extremely creepy post from a 48 year old man looking for a "fun young lady" to live with him for free to "care for his house while he's at his other house" on the opposite coast. There was also the possibility of being his assistant for $500-$700/week.

I do have a friend whose brother with Down Syndrome lived in some sort of supportive roommate situation where I think the roommate got a good deal for helping him with things like paying his bills and grocery shopping.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

I searched craigslist in my city for roommate postings in response to this OP and found an extremely creepy post from a 48 year old man looking for a "fun young lady" to live with him for free to "care for his house while he's at his other house" on the opposite coast. There was also the possibility of being his assistant for $500-$700/week.

I do have a friend whose brother with Down Syndrome lived in some sort of supportive roommate situation where I think the roommate got a good deal for helping him with things like paying his bills and grocery shopping.

I wasn't suggesting he/she offer themselves up for sexual favors.

Good grief...

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I wasn't suggesting he/she offer themselves up for sexual favors.

Good grief...

I wasn't suggesting you were. Just saying that if you search craigslist for roommates, there are other options than living in a van.

This guy's ad said that his personal assistant would "run errands, keep things organized and post ads on the internet." I did think sexual favors when I read it but technically that's not what he's advertising.

Another option for the OP would be house sitting. I hire house sitters to watch my dogs in my home every time we go away. Someone I work with (she's per diem and towards the end of her career so does what she wants) seems like she's traveling about as much as she's home and she also always hires house sitters for her dog so if you could find 2 people who travel 50% of the time and need house sitters while they're away, you could get paid to watch their houses and then have access to showers and a kitchen.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

About 30 years ago I found myself homeless and resulted to living in a camp ground in a two man tent with my then ner' do well husband. Let me assure you camping is no fun when you have to do it for a living. There tends to be dirt and mud everywhere and costs for things like food and places to take care of hygiene are hard to find. At least where I was there was a clean shower room. I vote for the suggestion of buying a used van conversion with an actual bed and kitchenette w small refrigerator. Parking at a campground allows you a shower and laundry facility as part of the rent and would be far more comfortable than living in a cargo van with just a mattress and blanket.

Hppy

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

I gotta say living in a Cargo Van doesn't seem like a way to avoid stress. Use that saved money to rent a room at least and get a buss pass

[Wuzzie]

I was thinking about it and at my facility if you were sneaky and moved your camper daily you could theoretically park in one of the garages for $80/mo (and that's directly from your paycheck pre-tax), shower in the hospital (several areas) eat at the cafeteria and there's a Target and a laundrymat within walking distance. Might be a pretty sweet deal. You'd have to make an occasional run in your vehicle to charge the on-board battery. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. LOL!